


Maybe someday

by writeitinthestars



Category: Falling Skies
Genre: Gen, an au in which hal is in chinatown with lourdes and lexi, and lourdes and hal try to parent lexi as best as they can, and maggie and ben are in the ghetto with tom, no trust me it's important
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2014-08-26
Packaged: 2018-02-12 04:27:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2095749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writeitinthestars/pseuds/writeitinthestars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the 2nd mass got separated, Hal got split off with Lourdes and Lexi. The two of them try to give Lexi the most normal life that they can manage, though the circumstances aren't the best. </p><p>Hal Mason contemplates about his time in Chinatown and how he wants nothing but the best for all three of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

* * *

All Hal Mason had wanted was for his dad to show up to one of his lacrosse games. He wanted to look out into the crowd of parents and see him sitting there cheering him on like his mother. Rebecca Mason had never missed a game. The time for games was over, though. There would never be another lacrosse game for his father to not go to and he would never hear his mother cheering him on again. The only things he had left of his mother were his memories.

He always wished that he was closer to his dad, but he wasn’t a borderline genius like Ben. They had almost nothing in common until the aliens invaded and deep down, that bugged him. Even now, fighting side by side, it was almost always about business when they talked. They had their own lives and it was something that Hal would have to deal with.   
Still, that didn’t stop him from being worried. They were all separated now and it was always his family that was on his mind whenever he couldn’t sleep. He would roam the peaceful grounds of Chinatown while most of the other citizens were asleep and wonder how long it would last.

How long would it be until they were forced to separate again? All he had now was Lourdes and Lexi. Would he lose them next time too? The thought made his hand instinctively want to curl around the gun he would carry with him, except now there was no gun. There was peace and there was quiet. In the beginning, he would have wished for this but now it was downright unsettling.

One of the only things that gave him comfort was looking at the moon. It was something that he’d done since he was younger and he could only hope that out there somewhere his dad, Ben, or maybe even Maggie were looking up at the same moon and wondering about him. A quiet voice and a gentle hand brushing against his knuckle snapped him out of his thoughts, “Lexi is looking for you.” Lourdes had snuck up on him again or maybe she’d been standing there waiting for him to notice her.

She didn’t say another word, she just held out her hand and looked up at him expectantly. With one last fleeting glance at the moon that was almost over their heads now, he took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before allowing her to lead him wordlessly down the path. It was a familiar routine now, though it had been difficult to get used to.

Lexi’s sudden changes had been a shock to both of them, but it had been harder on Hal. Lourdes had already latched onto Lexi as a sort of security blanket and it took a lot of convincing to prove to him that the blonde young woman was his little sister. The little girl that had spent the first few month or so of their time in Chinatown crawling into bed with him when she had a nightmare or missed her mother was gone. They’d told her about the people they missed and members of their family that she would never get to meet. He’d told her about Karen and how she used to be back when Hal had first met her. Now the grown woman who was his sister held those same memories in her brain and it terrified him at times.  

Lexi’s  _powers_  terrified him.

*

The first time she’d used them was when they got into an argument. Lexi had shouted at him that he wasn’t her father. “You’re my baby sister and our dad isn’t here so I might as well be,” and the next thing he knew he was clutching at his throat. Lourdes had screamed, Lexi had snapped out of it, and Hal stood there clutching his throat looking pale as a sheet.

It was strange having Lourdes trust him again. They both remembered, or at least they remembered pieces, of what it was like being controlled by the Espheni. Lourdes had shouted at him and pushed him away for what seemed like weeks when she’d remembered. It made him sick to his stomach to know now that it was his fault that Lexi was like this and part of him wanted to make it right. He wanted to make it right with Lourdes, too. Keeping his promise to protect her had take priority right next to making his sister grew up as normal as possible in this new hellish world.

They’d talked about it frequently in the first month when they first arrived there and agreed that it was important. Once, when Hal had managed to find some wine in one of the buildings, he’d told Lourdes about how he intended to be something that his father wasn’t. He would be supportive of Lexi and celebrate every little thing she did no matter how small. He would keep her in check and let her know that he cared about her because **_damn it_** , that was so important for a kid to have no matter where they were. Lexi would grow up being loved and feeling normal even if they all knew she was far from it. Whether it was the fact that they had both been drinking and practically finished the bottle between them or if it was something else, he never asked. All that mattered was that Lourdes had kissed him.The two of them made a point to not speak of it in front of Lexi, but he missed it during the time when Lourdes avoided him.

"What does Lexi want," Hal finally spoke up as they neared the temple where his younger sister stayed. Lourdes swung her arm up and took a few steps ahead of him before turning to look at him as she kept walking backwards.

"She heard you were back from scouting so she asked me to make you something to eat." The dark-haired girl was beaming at him in a way that made his heart ache and he thought that maybe he would ask her to visit him later. Lourdes,in her dresses that were as pretty and delicate as she was, was his one anchor to the life he’d had back when the invasion was new and now they were back to square one. Her greeting him when he got back from looking for more food just outside the walls and making sure that he was okay even when he insisted he was.

*

Hal and Lourdes cared about each other and now they had to look out for each other. Hal had made a joke once, “Maybe Chinatown is our chance to have something like it was before.”

"Well, I guess someday is real," Lourdes had said in a quiet voice that Hal barely caught but he grinned at her all the same.

"Hal," a voice rang out from the steps of the temple as his sister hurried down the stairs looking like some sort of fallen angel with the moonlight reflecting off of her hair. Lourdes released his hand as Lexi reached them. As the older girl folded her hands in front of her, Lexi grabbed Hal by the hands and smiled up at him."I was worried about you, but I told Lourdes you would make it back fine. Come on, I have so much to talk to you about," she said in that soothing voice of hers.

People had faith in his sister and Hal could see why. She was a calming presence but Hal could tell she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. It was up to Lourdes and him to help relieve some of that weight. They would help her, the child of barely a year old who looked fully grown, carry the weight that neither of them would want to because that’s what parental figures do.

So as Lexi took them both by the hands and led them towards the temple that she called home, Hal couldn’t help but look to his right. He caught Lourdes’ eye and they smiled at each other.  Hal would do his best to be everything to be a good father figure to Lexi, though he knew he could never replace Tom. He could try to be better, though, and treat her the way Tom had treated his brothers but had lacked in when raising him. Lourdes would do the same, knowing she could never replace Anne. Maybe this wasn’t the someday they thought they’d get, but it would have to do. At least for now.


	2. Protectors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne's arrival in Chinatown had led to some starting revelations that none of them were counting on.

* * *

Waiting outside while Anne questioned the Espheni monk had taken a toll on his nerves. It made Hal feel like a failure and more responsible than ever. He couldn’t bear to go inside. He couldn’t stomach the fact that the _thing_  in there had somehow managed to get to his sister no matter how hard they’d tried. He didn’t trust himself to not do anything and act on his deep-seeded fury for the things that had destroyed his life. Destroyed Lourdes’ life. Destroyed _all_  their lives. He felt stupid for not listening to his gut. It wasn’t like Hal didn’t know that something was wrong with Lexi lately.

She’d seemed more high-strung than usual especially since Anne got there. It was like the presence of her mother had awoken the rebellious nature in his half-sister. Hal had gone through his own rebellious phase in high schoolbut this was different. At least his rebellion hadn’t been fueled by something that was uncontrollable. It hurt him deep down to know that he was responsible - they were both responsible- for what Lexi was going through.

As Anne and the others filed out of the room, Hal fell into step with Deni and Anthony as Anne slid the door shut. He only caught a glance of the alien inside but it was enough to make his stomach churn. Anne stalked off in the direction of the temple and his gut reaction was to make a move to follow her, but Anthony stopped him with a look. The older Mason stood up a little straighter and nodded before leading them to where he’d locked up the weapons beforehand.

The second Hal laid a hand on Anthony’s gun, the older man frowned. “What’s going on with you two?”

Hal raised an eyebrow and caught Deni looking away out of the corner of his eye before he answered, “Lourdes was never a fighter, Anthony. You know that.” His voice barely rose up above a whisper and Anthony just shook his head, still not relinquishing his gun.

"Then what’s up with you, Hal? Giving up your weapons like that and letting your sister get away with talking to that thing." Hal’s jaw clenched and his heart sank. He was pissed.

Did anyone really think that he would willingly let his kid sister near something that had caused the death of his mother? Those things had ruined his life and for someone to think that he would, of his own free-will, hand his sister over to them was the biggest insult to his dignity. Deni took a step towards then both, ready to hold Hal back if he made any move to hit something but the tension was broken by the sound of footsteps running towards them.

Hal dropped the end of the gun he was holding and whirled around so fast that he had to grab Lourdes by the shoulders to stop her from running smack into him. “Lourdes, what’s wrong?”

"Lexi..something happened to Lexi," her voice was breaking and there were tears threatening to spill over. Hal gulped hard before rounding on Anthony and grabbing the gun from him before he could say another word. The furious look on the younger man’s face only made Anthony stop for a second before rolling his eyes and sulking off in the other direction. Deni stayed behind as Hal put the confiscated gun in with the others.

"Deni, your gun."

"No." The look on Hal’s face made her grip her gun even harder as she took a step closer and said in quiet voice, "We still have to interrogate it later and you don’t want us in there with that thing unarmed, do you?" Hal’s facial expression softened after a few seconds and he let out a huff before turning. He practically slammed the door shut and locked the padlock, nodding at the young girl one last time as she walked off to find her friend.

Hal took Lourdes by the wrist and started walking as fast as he could towards the temple. His strides were longer than Lourdes’ and the shorter girl almost had to jog to keep up with him. “Hal,  _wait_.” He stopped at the bottom of the steps to the temple and looked down at Lourdes. She looked smaller than before in her sweater that she’d found a few days ago and the  long dress that she always wore.

"What," he sounded a little harsher than he meant to, but that was his little sister in there. He should be in there with her. They should be in there with her if she was sick.

"Anne won’t let me near her," Lourdes said in a voice barely above a whisper. The older Mason’s breath caught in his throat and his heart felt like it dropped into his stomach. How could Anne do that to Lourdes when she’d made it obvious that she’d done nothing but what was best for the younger girl? Hal had tried his best, too, and they’d kept the fanatical people as far away from the blonde as they could. Before Hal could utter a word of protest, Lourdes had taken her crucifix off and was holding it out to him.

  
"Lourdes, no," he couldn’t stomach to look at that damn three-ringed necklace anymore since he’d found out the meaning. The Mexican girl just took his hand and put the crucifix in it before closing his fingers around it.

  
"Keep it safe for now, Hal." Lourdes nodded as she sniffed and wiped her eyes. Before Hal could stop her, she’d reached into the pocket of her sweater and pulled out the other necklace. The one that Lexi’s followers wore. The one that he’d managed to keep Lourdes from wearing for so long because her faith mattered more than anything his sister preached. But this was a different circumstance. Lexi needed them both to be supportive and help her. So Hal didn’t speak a word as Lourdes took him by the hand and they both walked into the temple.

*

"You shouldn’t have done that to her," Lourdes spoke up from beside Hal as Anne explained to Dr. Kadar what had happened, "when she’s mad, she has a hard time controlling her powers." Kadar looked over his shoulder at the two younger adults and nodded slowly. He knew first hand from some of the earlier times when he’d tried to give Lexi her checkups. Even as a child, Lexi had kicked and screamed and even shattered vials whenever anyone but Lourdes tried to take her blood. They knew. They _all_  knew. Lourdes had had to get back into the step of helping people after that and Kadar had helped her almost every step of the way. 

The two young people weren’t mad at him for what was happening right now. Anne trusted him, which was more than they could say about either of them. “I didn’t  _do_  anything to her, Lourdes.”

Hal bit down on his tongue and Lourdes flinched at the venom in Anne’s voice, but what came next was even worse. “Maybe they did,” Anne continued, “or maybe you did.”  

Lourdes’ eyes widened and she gripped the sleeve of Hal’s coat tight like it was keeping her from collapsing to the ground. Hal felt rage surge up in the pit of his stomach. It wasn’t Lourdes’ fault. Lourdes had been nothing but good to Lexi since before they’d even set foot in Chinatown. “Anne,” Hal practically growled at her.

"Hal, don’t." Lourdes said quietly and her voice broke, which only made Hal angrier. All he could hear was the pounding of his own heart in his ears as Lourdes brought him forward with her to stand closer to Lexi. It hurt both of them to see her like that. Sick and laying there in bed looking like she was dying.

118.  _His fault. “_ Help me.” And her body started seizing up and he pulled Lourdes from the room as fast as he could because God only knew they couldn’t stand to see her like that for another second.

*

Lourdes had sobbed onto his shoulder for what could have been an hour. Hal could barely fight back any tears of his own but he tried to stay strong to protect the both of them. He’d failed but he could make it up to them. All of them.

He’d sent Lourdes away to the infirmary to look for something that could help with Lexi the second he’d seen Anne step outside followed closely by Kadar. “We need to talk,” he clenched his hands into fists in the pockets of his coat.

"It’s alright, Roger," Anne said to Kadar but her stern gaze never left her daughter’s self-appointed guardian. 

As soon as Kadar was gone, Hal started walking until they reached the pond. It was far enough away that Lexi wouldn’t hear them talking but close enough that they could get there in time if she needed them. “Who the hell do you think you are,” was the first thing out of his mouth as he stood up to his full height and narrowed his eyes at the doctor.

"I’m her  _mother,_ Hal.” Anne snapped right back. “And Lourdes..”

Hal cut her off, the anger bubbling in his chest was even stronger than it had been before. “ _Lourdes_ did nothing but take care of Lexi while we were separated.  _We_ are the ones that were here with her the whole time. Who do you think Lexi ran to when she had nightmares? Who gave her books to read, fed her, clothed her? It was  _us,_ Anne.” Hal’s voice broke as he watched Anne’s facial expression soften slightly.

"The Espheni got to her anyway," Anne sounded heartbroken and it was something he could relate to. The little girl was suffering because none of them had been able to protect her from the thing they’d meant to all along. Maybe Hal and Lourdes had been so focused on making sure Lexi felt as normal as possible that they’d missed any obvious signs.

"How do you think I feel, Anne? Those things took  _everything_ from me. They took my mother. They took Karen. Hell, they almost took me,” he shook his head as he fought back the memory of holding the gun to his own head. “I won’t let them take Lexi, too.”

Anne just stared at him in silence before looking over her shoulder at the temple. “What do we do?”

"You go talk to that…thing you have locked up. I’ll go see if I can help Lourdes find anything." Anne looked like she was about to protest, but Hal continued anyway, "I don’t care if you don’t trust us because you have every right to. But we can’t save Lexi if we argue about it. We’re not going to let her die." Hal choked back tears and put a hand on Anne’s shoulder.

Anne nodded, “Right. For Lexi,” she cleared her throat and nodded as they parted ways.

*

"There’s a flower," Anne shouted as she burst back into the room a few hours later. Hal and Lourdes both looked up and Lourdes froze in the middle of stroking Lexi’s hair. Hal was standing near the glass bowl where they had the flower steeping in boiling water. 

"We know," Hal said softly and he walked over to Anne. "I was just about to come find you. You should be here for this," he still felt resentment for what had happened earlier but it was over now. He’d accepted the fact that maybe no one would fully trust him  _or_ Lourdes again. His sister’s life was most important now and she needed her mother.

"Lexi showed me this flower before," Anne said quietly as she handed the bowl to Lourdes. 

Hal was standing over the dark-haired girl’s shoulder, but he was keeping a watchful eye on his sister. His heart was breaking more and more every second that she laid there helpless and he knew that everyone else in the room felt the same. “It’s special,” Lourdes smiled at Anne.

Lexi struggled to sit up for a moment until Hal took a seat beside Lourdes and helped his younger sister into a sitting position. He stroked her hair as she drank the liquid until the bowl was empty and then he watched in silence. 

"Today. Right now. We’re on the same side. Agreed," Anne asked Lourdes and the room was silent again as they all waited for an answer. 

Lourdes just looked back at Lexi laying on the bed before locking eyes with Hal. He nodded slightly and Lourdes felt a weight lift off her chest as she turned and smiled at Anne. “Of course.” 

"Mom?" Hal’s heart leapt into his throat as Lexi finally spoke up. "Can I have some more tea?" A nervous laugh escaped Hal as he pressed a kiss to the top of his little sister’s head. She was okay. Their family would all be okay because they were all coming together now, just like it should be.


	3. Miracles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is set chronologically before the first two within the first month or so that they're in Chinatown. The mech attacks and Hal realizes something horrible about his younger sister.

* * *

It had been a month, give or take a week or two, since they’d first stepped foot in Chinatown and it was still like something out of a fairy tale. There had been no attacks so far, but that didn’t keep both Hal and Lourdes from losing sleep at night. Lexi wouldn’t have to know that, though. Sometimes the two of them would lay awake in silence, but other times they would engage in quiet conversation. 

”Hal,” Lourdes’ voice had jolted him out of his half asleep state and he turned his head to look at her while he rubbed his eyes. 

"What’s wrong," he sat up straighter in the windowsill and tightened his grip on the one gun he still had with him from when they’d been separated from everyone else.

"Nothing just," Lourdes looked around the room warily, almost like she was making sure no one was listening. "How long do you think this will last? With no attacks, I mean. What if we have to leave again? What if Lexi.."

Hal hopped down from the windowsill and crossed the room as quick as he could and knelt down in front of the girl. “Lourdes.” he whispered in an attempt to calm the girl who was clutching at the crucifix around her neck like it was a safety net. “I said I would protect you, remember?” His tone was gentle as he reached out and brushed some of her hair out of her face.

There was a pause during which both of their minds wandered back to their conversation in that tent. It seemed like so long ago, when really it was only a few months. The dark-haired young woman nodded. “I do. But what about…”

"Lexi, too. I’ll protect both of you. I promise. Now go back to sleep, Lourdes. I’ll be right across the room." Hal leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. He went to stand up to return to his post but stopped when Lourdes spoke up.

"Hal?"

"What?"

If it wasn’t so dark out that night, Hal might’ve been able to see that Lourdes was blushing slightly as she replied, “Stay with me.”

The young man took a deep breath and glanced from the windowsill to the girl in front of him before he let out a sigh and set the gun down on the floor. He was too tired to sit up much longer anyway. So, he laid down on the makeshift bed next to Lourdes and she moved over to make room for him. 

"Good night, Hal," Lourdes mumbled as she rolled over onto her other side to face the wall.

*

Lourdes hated being right. In that moment, Hal probably would have hated the fact that she was right too if his mind hadn’t switched into battle mode. The mech had stomped into Chinatown and people had went running. It’d only been the night before when they’d talked about it and maybe they’d both known deep down it couldn’t last.

Hal was just raising the gun to point it at the mech when a voice rang out behind him and someone started pulling on the sleeve of his coat. “Hal!” He just tried to shrug the person away, but the little girl persisted. “Hal, stop!”

He froze and looked over his shoulder at his younger sister, fighting the urge to just start shooting the damn thing like other people were getting ready to. “What, Lexi,” he practically hissed at her.

The little girl only blinked up at him, “Wait.” He didn’t know why, but the way she said it made a chill run down his spine and he remembered vaguely what she’d said just before the walls had come down between them all. 

"Lexi," Lourdes shouted as she can running over to the two of them.

"You were supposed to keep her away from here, Lourdes," the older Mason snapped at her.

"I tried but I turned my back for one…just one second!" 

"Just take her back!"

"Come on, Le…Hal. Where’d she go," Lourdes sounded panicked as she started looking around for the little girl.

Panic set in as the two of them scanned the small area filled with people firing or getting ready to fire at the mech. “There she is,” Hal grabbed Lourdes by the wrist and started pulling her through the crowd towards the small figure.

The two of them stopped just as everyone else did. The air felt charged all of a sudden and there was a distant crackling sound before it happened. People screamed and jumped back as lightning struck the mech. Lourdes clung to Hal’s coat sleeve and he covered his mouth and nose to keep from breathing in smoke and the smell of burning metal.

The only thing more shocking than the fact that it was a cloudless night when the lightning hit was that the mech was frozen in place where it had been struck. Like the damn thing had short circuited. “Holy crap,” Hal mumbled and Lourdes made the sign of the cross before starting to pray quietly to herself. The two of them stood there staring at the disabled alien technology in awe before something broke their trance-like state.

"Hal," Lexi shouting his name caught his attention.

"Lexi?" He looked around and his heart sank as he noticed people moving towards one spot dangerously close to where he’d last seen Lexi when the lightning hit. Hal went to move, only to find that Lourdes was still gripping his arm tight and staring straight ahead, her lips moving in silent prayer. "Lourdes. Come on, Lourdes." He couldn’t get her to move, so he told her to stay put as he almost had to fight his way through to his little sister.

The little dark haired girl flung herself into her brother’s arms as soon as he broke through the crowd of people. “Hal! I told you to just wait.” She clung to him and he couldn’t tell if it was him shaking or her as he stroked her hair.

“I know, Lexi, I know.” He picked her up and looked around as the crowd of people stared at him. Hal felt claustrophobic and more freaked out than he’d been in a long time as he stepped forward and the people parted to make way for him. Or maybe it was just for Lexi, but Hal couldn’t think about that right now.

“Lourdes,” Hal stopped in front of her. The girl was still clutching her crucifix and looking like she’d just seen the sun for the first time. It sent a chill down his spine because it was way too similar to the look on the faces of the crowd for him to feel safe. “Lourdes,” he reached out his free hand that wasn’t holding onto Lexi and shook the shorter girl by the shoulder. “Lourdes. Stay with me, Lourdes. I  _need_ you.” The Mexican girl didn’t snap out of it and Hal’s voice cracked, “Lourdes.”

“Lourdes,” Lexi’s voice was barely above a whisper as she reached a hand out and stroked the older girl’s cheek. That did it. The girl’s gaze snapped from the disabled robot to the little girl half asleep in her brother’s arms. Lourdes stared at her, even when Hal grabbed her by the arm and started pulling her in the direction of their shared residence.

Lexi was fast asleep in his arms before they even reached it. It was like she was too exhausted to keep her eyes open anymore and she stayed where Hal laid her down on his mattress without making a sound as she didn’t even stir.

He didn’t expect to see Lourdes standing a few inches away from him when he turned around and he nearly jumped out of his skin. “Lourdes, you can’t sneak up on me like that,” he shook his head as he tried to calm himself down.

“It was a miracle, Hal.” Lourdes stared up at him with wide eyes and a gentle smile. “An actual miracle.”

“Lourdes…”

“There were no clouds and the lightning came and struck it down before it could hurt us. It was a  _miracle._ We’re saved,” Lourdes looked like a little kid on Christmas and Hal took a step back towards Lexi.

_Wait,_ Lexi’s quiet voice echoed in the back of his head and something that had been gnawing at the back of his brain made his stomach turn. “Lexi,” he mumbled as he looked back at his sleeping sister. She looked so innocent like that and he wondered if it was even possible. “Lexi did it. She told me to wait and then…”

“Lexi performed a miracle,” Lourdes whispered and Hal felt his heart sink. No, this isn’t what he wanted for Lexi. This wasn’t what  _Lourdes_ wanted for Lexi.

“Lourdes. She’s not Jesus, Lourdes,” Hal said in a hushed voice.

“I never said she was,” Lourdes frowned at him and gripped her crucifix again.

“It’s not  _normal.”_

“Don’t question my faith, Hal.”

He froze. That wasn’t what he wanted to do at all. His brain worked overtime and he felt like he could vomit when he realized, “Karen.” It made sense and he felt like things were starting to make the worst type of sense. Her aging the way she did. Her knowing that something would happen to the mech. Karen had done something to his baby sister and somehow, he wasn’t sure how, he’d helped. Lourdes looked like she’d gone pale as she stared at the little girl and Hal repeated himself. “Karen did this.”

“Karen is  _dead,_ Hal,” Lourdes practically hissed at him.

“She did something to Lexi and I know you know it, too.” He took a step forward and cupped her face in his hands as she started to hyperventilate quietly. “Lourdes, something is  _wrong_ here. Lexi…she should be a baby. Not a little kid. Something’s wrong here.”

“But…Lexi. She would never…she couldn’t…” Lourdes shook her head and tried to fight back the tears that were stinging her eyes and making her vision blurry. She wasn’t sure what happened as her mind swam with ideas and repressed memories. Blurry memories. Blurry vision. Then the cool night air was hitting her face and Hal’s arms were around her.

He stroked her hair and stayed silent as she wept into his shirt, “They did this to her, Hal. They did it and we let,” she was cut off by another loud sob and she clutched his coat even tighter. Tears were about to fall from Hal’s eyes as he shook his head and closed his eyes.

“It wasn’t us, Lo. It wasn’t.” Neither of them was sure who he was trying to reassure, but it was a small comfort. It couldn’t be anything better than putting a band-aid on a broken bone and expecting it to heal. “We’ll protect her this time. I promise.”

“How,” Lourdes’ voice cracked and she lifted her head from his now tear-stained shirt to look at him as he wiped his own eyes before opening them and looking at her. She looked more like a lost child than Lexi did at times like this and it broke his heart even more.

“We’ll protect her from them. They’ll think it’s a miracle too.”

Lourdes fought back more tears as she nodded her head. It was another stab to her faith. Another crack in the fiber of her being caused by Karen. The person who’d controlled her had ruined something else that she held dear and she wouldn’t let her ruin it anymore. “But…”

“We’ll keep them away from her and make sure we treat her like nothing’s different.”

“She knows she’s different.”

“Lourdes,” Hal’s voice was soothing as he rubbed her back slightly, “we can do this. Even if it’s only for a little while. You want to keep Lexi safe, don’t you?”

Lourdes nodded her head, “More than anything else in the world.”

“Then we act like nothing’s the matter and treat Lexi like she’s Lexi. At least while we try to figure it out.”

And they promised each other that they would. Neither of them slept very well that night, as Hal sat perched on the windowsill keeping a close eye on his sister wondering how the hell they were going to do this.


	4. Pain

“It’s like some weird butterfly or something,” Hal mumbled and flinched as Lourdes pressed a cloth to his cheek. He clenched his jaw and Lourdes seemed to ignore his comment as she just shook her head. Maggie was looking at them out of the corner of her eye and she frowned before facing forward to stare at the glowing cocoon that was bathing the room in an eerie blood red light.

“You shouldn’t have gotten into it with Pope, Hal,” Lourdes said quietly and Hal’s attention snapped back to her. Lourdes looked like she hadn’t slept properly since Lexi went into her cocoon a few days ago and it wouldn’t be hard to believe.

“Well, he shouldn’t have called you an Espheni loving little bitch,” the oldest Mason son frowned as he looked down at his hand. His knuckle was starting to hurt as the adrenaline from the fight died down and the cut on his cheek stung even more. “I mean, you’re not. None of us could love those things and Lexi isn’t…” He trailed off because he wasn’t so sure anymore. They were all staring the evidence that Lexi wasn’t fully human in the face, there was no use denying it anymore.

“It’s okay, Hal. I had it handled,” the girl shook her head as she finally finished cleaning up the blood on his face from where Pope had punched him. He didn’t regret it, really. Who the hell did Pope think he was saying that? He was the one who’d intruded on their peaceful place and tried to kill his currently defenseless little sister. Pope deserved it. “Do you think Lexi will be mad?” Lourdes said suddenly and Hal just shrugged his shoulders.

It was silent in the room for a little while longer with everyone staring at the cocoon. Waiting. Just waiting for it to split open. Lourdes had no idea what to expect and part of her thought that Lexi would come out looking even older than she’d gone in. It wouldn’t surprise her as much as waking up one morning to find out the little dark haired girl was now a blonde young woman had shocked her. “Hey, Lourdes,” Hal’s voice from beside her snapped her out of staring at the girl in the cocoon and she looked up at him. The light in the room made everything more terrifying if she was being honest about it. Even Hal’s face when basked in the eerie glow made her want to curl up in a ball and start to pray. “maybe you should go get something for Lexi. You know, for when she comes out.”

Lourdes’ eyes wandered the room for a second before they landed on Maggie and Ben. Maggie kept glancing over in their direction and she would occasionally say something to the younger Mason who would only shrug. So, the Mexican girl took Hal’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze before nodding, “I’ll go get something for her to wear.” Lourdes flashed Hal a tiny smile before brushing past Maggie on her way out the door.

“What the hell was that all about,” Maggie asked as she took Lourdes’ spot next to Hal.

He bit his tongue to keep from snapping at her and clenched his jaw. What the hell was her trying to start some sort of revolution against his little sister about would be the better question. “What was what about?”

“You attacking Pope. He could have killed you,” she didn’t raise her voice, she just turned to look at him and squinted.

“I was protecting my family.”  
“And Lourdes is your family?”

“She has been while I was here,” Hal cleared his throat and shook his head. He wasn’t questioning her sudden closeness with Ben so why should she do the same to him? Being apart hadn’t been easy and the divide over Lexi was only making it more evident that there was a gap they hadn’t quite fixed yet.

“Hal. We don’t know what Lexi’s capable of,” Maggie frowned at him. He knew deep down that she was right. Lexi’s powers had gotten more out of control over the past few days and it was one of the scariest things in the world. Almost scarier than the fact that there was an escaped Espheni overlord near Chinatown. “I mean, you heard what the Volm said. These hybrids come out and destroy everything around them.”

Hal watched his dad standing there talking quietly to Weaver and he wondered if he could hear everything Maggie was saying to him. “Lexi’s different. You don’t know her like I do.”

“You’re right. I don’t, Hal. I just know that she’s dangerous.”

Hal had been dangerous and maybe that was what bothered him most about what Maggie was saying. He’d been dangerous enough to hand his own family over to Karen. Maybe it was different then because Maggie didn’t want to lose him. But she’d been so ready to end Lourdes’ misery and now she was doing the same thing with Lexi.

The second he went to say something in response to her, Anne came running into the room. The air seemed to get a little lighter as the stress of not knowing what was happening to the woman lifted off of everyone’s shoulders. “She doesn’t see me as a threat,” Anne said as she walked over to the cocoon and everyone in the room went still as she placed her hand on it. Hal let out a relieved sigh as she didn’t flinch back.

A chill ran down his spine as Lexi’s hand reached up inside the cocoon and settled on the barrier. His hand instinctively gripped the gun that was at his side and he held his breath as Maggie tensed up next to him. The second Lexi opened her eyes, he knew something was wrong. Something seemed to be missing and he couldn’t quite place it, but everyone else felt it.

Tom grabbed Anne by the arm and pulled her back away from the cocoon and Hal stepped sideways in an attempt to push Maggie back even a few inches more away from the glowing object that held his half-sister.

The light from the cocoon was almost binding when it split open, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away. “Lexi, are you alright?” Anne said quietly as Lexi stepped out and looked around the room slowly at all of them.

“Her eyes,” Ben said quietly from next to his brother. “What happened to her eyes?”

The tension broke in the room as Lexi collapsed and hit the ground. Instead of running towards his sister like everyone else, Hal took off towards the archway and down the steps. “Lourdes,” he shouted at the girl who was walking back towards the temple.

She took longer strides and was in front of him in seconds, “Hal, what happened?”

He shook his head and gulped as they fell into step next to each other. “It’s Lexi.”

“Is she okay,” Lourdes looked up at him as they got closer to the temple and they could hear quiet talking now.

“She’s fine. But Lourdes,” he grabbed her gently by the arm and stopped her. He looked pale and nervous and it wasn’t something that could go unnoticed. Lourdes’ heart sank as all Hal could say was, “She’s different.”

They both looked back at the building as they heard Lexi speak, “Tom Mason?” Lourdes looked at Hal and before he could say anything, she broke into a run.

“Lourdes! Lourdes, wait,” he called after her as she ran up the steps and he got there in time to see the girl draping a red dress over his sister as she helped her into it.

“Is there anything you need?”

“We’re so glad you’re alright,” Anne smiled at her and Hal set down his gun at the door before walking over to kneel beside Lourdes.

“Lexi, you’re ok. You’re back,” he smiled weakly at her and his blood ran cold as his sister locked eyes with him. He’d been right. There was no warmth in her eyes now. No hugging him or Lourdes to assure them that she was okay.

Instead, she rose to her feet and everyone rose up with her. “I have to go,” her tone was almost commanding.

The smile sank from Lourdes’ face, “Go?”

“Go where,” Tom stepped in front of her, “You’re not going anywhere until I get a chance to calm everyone down out there.” Hal looked at his father and nodded in agreement.

“He’s right, Lexi. It’s not safe out there for you,” he reached out to put a hand on her shoulder and only stopped when she turned around and narrowed her eyes at him for a few moments.

“I could hear them. Their fear, their hatred. They wanted to hurt me,” Lexi said in a soft voice. Hal’s heart felt like it was breaking. It was almost like she was pleading with them to just let her go and how was he supposed to do that. After everything they’d done to protect her, he couldn’t just let her walk out into a lion’s den alone.

“People were afraid that you were going to come out different. Or dangerous,” Hal cringed as his father tried to explain himself.

“But we never believed that, right, Hal,” Lourdes smiled and brushed some of Lexi’s hair out of her face in an attempt to soothe her. It was like they used to do when she was little.

When Lexi looked up at Hal, it was like he was seeing a glimmer of the girl that he’d known when they first got there. The one that was so eager to learn and read, to do things that other humans do. The one that would crawl into bed with either of them if she had a nightmare or tell them interesting facts she’d read in books. So, he gulped and shook his head, “Not for a second, Lex.”

“I am different,” Lexi said as she finally looked away from him, “I tried to help all of the people that lived here make peace with their enemies, but I see now there’s no use.” Hal felt Lexi scrutinizing the cut on his cheek and he spoke up again.

“Lexi…he was going to kill you,” his voice broke and Lourdes looked somewhere between horrified and heartbroken. He couldn’t even bear to look at Anne, knowing the look on her face might be even more heart-wrenching.

“Humans cannot let go of their war-like ways,” her eyes drifted to the gun in Ben’s hand, to the gun by the doorway, before finally settling on Tom. He shifted uncomfortably under the almost burning gaze of the youngest Mason before she went on, “so it’s time for me to leave here.”

Hal put a hand on Lourdes’ shoulder as her shoulders started to shake. Tears were threatening to spill out and Anne grabbed Lexi by the wrist to get her attention, “You spoke to me. You said you would always need your family.” The way she spoke made her sound more confused than hurt and ,at that moment, it might have been that way.

Lourdes kept her eyes locked on Lexi, waiting for any sort of response. Anything that would show that the girl she’d helped raise and protect was still there. Anne was right, Lexi would need her family and that’s what everyone in that room was. Family. Whether they all trusted each other or not at the moment, they were family.

“You misunderstood,” Lexi shook her head slowly and Lourdes’ eyes widened as Hal’s grip on her shoulder tightened. “Not this family.” Lourdes heard Hal let out a sharp intake of breath behind her and she felt like she’d been dumped in a bucket of ice water. Unable to move. All she could do was register the shock that Lexi had essentially disowned her after everything she’d done for her. After everything Hal had done for her. Had they just been unwilling pawns to the Espheni again? Raising a war machine disguised as a helpless little girl only to have her wrenched away from them by the same things that had made the poor Catholic girl lose her faith and nearly her sanity was the final insult that the Espheni could manage. Rubbing salt in a wound that she’d worked so hard to heal.

“Your hearts are filled with violence,” everyone in the room stood still as Lexi focused on them one by one. Hal could swear he even saw Weaver flinch. Maggie inched closer to Hal and he stood perfectly still. If he had to protect anyone from his sister, he would. “You don’t have the courage to change.” It was funny, though, how she sounded almost sad to say it to their faces. “There’s nothing more I could do.” Anne reached out for Lexi, but her daughter ignored her and focused on the girl in front of her. “For any of you.”

Before anyone could stop Lourdes, she reached out for Lexi with tears in her eyes. “Lexi, I never gave up on you. You know that.”

“And for that I will always be grateful, Lourdes.”

“Lexi, you’re right. They’re afraid of you, they’ll maybe even try to hurt you,” Tom said in what seemed like a final attempt to reason with his daughter but Lexi only held her head high and said that they could try before brushing past him.

Everyone was still, then it was like time started moving again all at once and Lourdes took off after her. “Lexi, come back!”

It was hard to get out of the temple with everyone else scrambling to get to Lourdes and by the time they all reached the circle that had formed around Lexi, Lourdes was trying to push through. “Lourdes, no,” Hal shouted over everyone and he reached her in a few big steps. Instead of stopping her, she pulled him through the crowd with her. “Put the gun down, Pope,” Hal narrowed his eyes at the older man. Pope didn’t say a word and he didn’t lower the gun but Hal lost focus feeling the eyes of his family and everyone else on him as Lourdes spoke up again.

“Lexi, please stay with us. We won’t be violent anymore. You know us, we haven’t changed. We never will,” Lourdes cried, keeping a safe distance from Lexi. She was just an arms length away from Hal and if he needed to reach out to her, he could.

“You haven’t changed, Lourdes.” Lexi focused on Hal for a second before her gaze flickered back to Lourdes, “But there’s no helping Hal. My own brother caused violence in our place of peace. He’s lost.”

Hal felt sick. Once again, it seemed like he was guilty for ruining things for Lexi. He was the reason she was like this in the first place and maybe he was the reason that she’d changed in the first place. He hadn’t meant to do anything wrong, he only wanted to protect her. Pope woke up the worst in people and calling Lourdes such an awful thing had woken up some of the worst in Hal and now it was spiraling out of control. “Lexi,” he said in a voice barely above a whisper.

“Oh Lourdes,” Lexi smiled softly as she took a step forward and reached out her hand to the older girl. “You’re in so much pain,” she shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows, almost like she didn’t know how to look sympathetic anymore. Lourdes stumbled back a step and Hal caught her by the arm to steady her, his eyes never leaving his sister’s face as he frowned at her. “Would you like me to free you?” Lexi’s voice sounded as calm as ever and that was the worst thing of all.

Lourdes paused a second and withdrew the hand she was starting to hold out to Lexi. She was so close to Hal now that when she shook her head, some of her hair caught on the zipper of his coat. “No,” her hand flew up and clutched the necklace around her neck.

Lexi’s expression hardened, but the serene smile was still there as she glanced up at her older brother, “What about you, Hal?” His eyes widened and his face went pale as Lourdes clutched at his sleeve. “I know you don’t want to show it, but you’re in just as much pain as Lourdes. I can free you. I can free you both.”

Lourdes bit her lip to keep back a sob as Hal shook his head, “She said no, Lexi.”

The blonde went to snap back at him but she was interrupted by a small red-headed girl breaking through the crowd and falling at her feet. The air felt electric and Lourdes let out a terrified whimper. Hal’s expression softened as the girl rose to her feet and grabbed his sister by both hands. He knew her. Lourdes knew her, too. Her parents had died on the way to Chinatown, she’d told them, and she’d latched onto Lexi like she was a life preserver.

“Free me, Lexi. I want to be free. I can’t go on without you. With all these people…please, just set me free,” the girl sounded almost manic and Hal took a few steps backwards. He was almost near the circle, if he could just get back through with Lourdes…

Then chaos broke out. “Lexi, what are you doing,” Anne shouted from the other side of the circle and Pope seemed to be forced to turn another direction. He couldn’t move his legs and for a second he thought back to the months when he’d been in a wheelchair but this was different. It was like there was an invisible barrier keeping him from moving in any direction.

The girl was struggling and it was so silent that they could hear the silent plea of, “Please.” before it fell silent again and a few second later, the girl fell to the ground. Lourdes was shaking slightly from what Hal could feel with her clinging to his jacket still. When Lexi brushed past both of them, he would have flinched away if he could. A few seconds later and Lourdes lurched forward, pulling Hal with her.

Lourdes clung to Hal’s coat as he looked over her shoulder at Anne, who just looked up at Tom before looking over in their direction. “She’s gone,” Anne said and Lourdes let out a loud cry.

It sent a chill down Hal’s spine as it was a sound that reminded him of visiting her in the tent back before she’d been cured. “She killed her, Hal. She killed her,” Lourdes sobbed into his shoulder and he bit back tears. Maggie was staring in their direction and Hal wasn’t quite sure if he could deal with her yet. She’d told him that Lexi was dangerous and he hadn’t listened.

Instead, he scooped Lourdes up. She was still sobbing into his coat and she barely seemed to notice that they were moving before they were finally at their shared quarters. Hal set her down and tried to calm her down even though he couldn’t stop himself from crying.

“She was going to kill me, Hal,” her voice broke as he wiped a tear from her face.

“Lourdes,” he said quietly as he looked her over to make sure that she was, indeed, perfectly fine, “I would never let her hurt you.” And there was a slight wave of relief as Lourdes pulled him into a tight hug. At least he’d managed to keep his promise to protect one of them.


End file.
